Auspiciado por la Fundación Bunge y Born, en ocasión de la entrega del Premio Fundación Bunge y Born 2017 al Dr. Carlos Balseiro.

En el Aula Magna, 1er piso, Pab. I,

MARTES 29/8, 16hs:

SERGE HAROCHE

College de France.
Premio Nobel de Física 2012.

How blue sky research and innovations nourish each other

Basic science and technology have always progressed together. Since the dawn of modern science, fundamental discoveries motivated by mere curiosity have led to the development of new tools, which in turn have increased our ability to investigate Nature, leading to further discoveries. The electromagnetic theory in the nineteen century and quantum theory in the twentieth provide striking illustrations of this virtuous circle. These theories were born to answer fundamental questions about the world, without any specific application in mind. And yet, after the laws ruling the behavior of light and matter have been uncovered, technologies exploiting these rules have emerged, which would have astonished the founding fathers of these theories. In the last century, computers, lasers, atomic clocks, magnetic resonance imaging machines have been invented, improving tremendously our means to communicate, to calculate, to store information and to orient ourselves in space. These devices have also been essential to carry experiments deepening our fundamental understanding about the universe and about life. I will describe how these devices have emerged from basic discoveries after a long maturation time. This fruitful symbiosis between basic and applied science is more than ever essential. In my own field of investigation, fundamental advances in the manipulation of real or artificial atoms and photons may lead to the development of new quantum technologies. What exactly these technologies will be able to achieve remains a guess. But one thing is sure: giving today to scientists the freedom to pursue their curiosity driven quest for knowledge is an essential condition for the birth of tomorrow’s innovations.